POLL: Are you at all concerned with an 0-2-1 start in the MLS Reserve League?

Look for a story in the paper Friday (and online tonight) that explores Sounders FC’s depth a little bit. Some have wondered if it’s as strong as year’s past, particularly due to a disappointing 0-2-1 start in the MLS Reserve League. That’s the worst record in the West Division coming off a division-best 8-1-1 mark last year.

Many Sounders have credited strong depth in the past for their success across multiple competitions — particularly winning three straight U.S. Open Cups.

Coach Sigi Schmid said the slow start by the reserves isn’t a huge concern and that priority is with the first team, where depth has facilitated a franchise-best 3-1-1 through the use of 19 different starters.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t worries.

“For the reserves, and we’ve talked about it a little bit as a group, I just think there’s a little bit of that bite that’s missing,” Schmid said.

“Last year, obviously you had Zach Scott there a lot, you had David Estrada there a lot, you had a (Pat) Noonan or a (Nate) Jaqua, so you had a little bit of an older group, a more veteran group and a hungry group. … The hunger hasn’t always been there (this year).”

Assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson, who manages the reserves, also lamented the lost leadership of veterans and also pointed to some late-game breakdowns on the road against Vancouver and Los Angeles: The Whitecaps scored a game-tying goal in stoppage time on March 26 and the Galaxy scored a 90th-minute winner Monday.

“We’ve played 5,340 seconds of good soccer (in those games),” Hendrickson said. “In the last 60 seconds, we’re not finishing it out.”